A new report published this week has found that 25 corporations that have declared support for the LGBTQ community during Pride Month have also contributed more than $10 million to anti-LGBTQ politicians over the last two years.
On Monday, an investigation published by the Popular Information newsletter found that some major corporations — including Verizon, Walmart, AT&T, and CVS Health — have been big financial supporters of anti-LGBTQ legislators at the federal and state level since 2019.
Despite publicly supporting the LGBTQ community — by changing their social media avatars to include rainbow colors; signing statements opposing anti-transgender legislation; or even creating “a virtual ‘Pride World’ [to] feature events, Pride floats, Pride flags, and even a pronoun guide for employees,” some corporations have also supported a number of candidates who oppose equal rights for LGBTQ individuals.
AT&T, for example, joined more than 130 business earlier this year in a letter opposing an alarming number of anti-transgender bills introduced in state legislatures.
However, the telecommunications giant has also supported sponsors of anti-trans legislation in Arkansas ($12,950), Tennessee ($4,000), North Carolina ($5,000), Texas ($22,500), and Florida ($17,500), according to the article co-written by Tesnim Zekeria and ThinkProgress founder Judd Legum.
CVS Health, whose Twitter avatar has changed to a rainbow-filled heart to celebrate Pride Month, tweeted earlier this year that it was “proud to join more than 100 companies that have signed [the Human Rights Campaign’s] Business Statement Opposing Anti-LGBTQ State Legislation.”
But according to the report the company has also supported the sponsors of anti-trans legislation in three states — Texas, North Carolina, and Tennessee — including highly controversial bills that would ban potentially life-saving gender-affirming medical care to adults and children.
This year, Walmart has a Pride-dedicated section on its website — featuring a same-sex couple with their daughter, and a message that reads, “We welcome everyone to be their authentic selves.”
But the retailer has donated at least $442,000 to 121 politicians who received a zero score in the latest Human Rights Campaign Congressional Scorecard, according to campaign finance reports.
Almost all of these corporations have a 100% in the 2021 HRC Corporate Equality Index, an annual list that measures workplace policies, practices and benefits of LGBTQ people.
The index rates businesses on their nondiscrimination policies; equitable benefits for LGBTQ workers and their families; their support of an inclusive culture; as well as corporate social responsibility. However, it doesn’t take political donations into account.
©2021 New York Daily News. Visit nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
—-
This content is published through a licensing agreement with Acquire Media using its NewsEdge technology.
These companies that foolish support or pretend to support the LGBTQ need to
look at what happened to Chic-Fil-A when their CEO closed the company on Sundays and denounced LGBTQ’s lifestyle.
Their business more than quadrupled. 🙂 🙂 🙂
AND of course ‘smart’ companies will TRY and play both sides of the field… THEY WOULD BE STUPID TO NOT.
Whatever it takes to make money and make the shareholders happy.
The woke corporations talk out of both sides of their mouth, as they want it both ways. Wokeness, but they want to be “protected” by the politicians they support. Hypocrites!
Which is why i firmly believe in the mantra, of GET WOKE go broke!